Cody Rhodes Says He Felt Disrespected In AEW, ‘I Wouldn’t Stand For It,’ Says There Is Still Love

Cody Rhodes is opening up regarding his departure from AEW.

Cody Rhodes is set to appear on the Bill Simmons podcast on Thursday, but a new teaser clip has been posted online where Cody addresses his AEW departure.

In the clip, Cody states, “There’s clearly bad blood, but there’s also clearly respect and love. In the end, the way I see it is, if I felt disrespected ever at WWE, that’s one thing. That’s a company that was built…that’s the Yankees. That’s the flagship of it all. If I ever felt (at WWE) that I was a number on a sheet, maybe, but feeling disrespected at something I built with my friends. That we built. Feeling disrespected there, I wouldn’t stand for it. Brandi and I both, I’m so blessed to have her. It was one of those where it was, fuck it. ‘I did way more here than you think, and you’re going to find out the moment I’m out the door.’ I don’t believe in the cold-hearted back-stabbing type of revenge. The greatest revenge on Earth is success. I felt like we were sitting on something wonderful. Something great. A huge, potentially, what I was doing with the American Nightmare, as a bad guy, as a good guy, something in between. We’re sitting on some magic. If I’m not going to do it in the house that I literally, with Matt, Nick, and Kenny built, then buddy, I’m going elsewhere.”

Cody was an EVP in AEW along with Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Kenny Omega. He left the company in February 2022.

Cody is set to challenge John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WWE SummerSlam.

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